Governor's Message - May 16, 2017

 

 

Million $ Journey Dinner: Just one week away

By Pat and Skip Doyle

Just a week and a half left until our Rotary Foundation' Million Dollar Journey Dinner and 100th Anniversary Celebration, on Thursday, May 25 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Mechanics Hall in Worcester. The cost is $75 per person, and the event is open to both Rotarians and non-Rotarians, and regardless of whether you have either donated or pledged to the Rotary Foundation

We hope that many of you are planning to attend, and help us end our year on a high note. This is really the only major district event held during this Rotary year. Your attendance will be much appreciated by us.

To register and pay now, click here.

The quote, "Be careful what you wish for," comes to mind - along with the ending, “Because you might get it.”  We wished for one million new dollars in donations or pledges for The Rotary Foundation in 2016-2017, and we got it - and more - thanks to the work of our Major Donor Gift Committee under the extraordinary leadership of Chair Satya Mitra. So far, we've raised more than $1.1 million in donations and pledges. Our goal is to reach the $1.5-million mark by this May 25 - and the $2-million milestone by June 30, 2018.
 
Thank you, Satya, and all who made this happen!
 
This is a very important message for club presidents, presidents-elect and concerned members of all 51 Rotary clubs in District 7910.
 
All clubs under the leadership of their presidents have two tasks they should absolutely complete before this June 30.
 
The first one is a district-related task. It is time for you to finish up your Club Planning Worksheets. Throughout the year, we hoped that you would use these sheets to first plan your year and then check to make sure you were on track to having a successful year. Now, it is time to review the sheets with your club, make corrections, and add new information.  You should have this completed by June 15,  you have until June 30 if there is any additional information you would like to add. When completed, you should send the form to Past District Governor Klaus Hachfeld.
 
Why would you want to send the form along to Klaus? you might ask. The answer is this: It gives the district a snapshot of what our clubs have done throughout the year. But beyond that, the district has a tradition of awarding plaques,  patches, certificates and a special district bell to clubs that have earned them during the year. In the past, these awards have been made at the District Conference. This year, since the deadline for completion of the worksheet was extended to the end of June, the awards will be made to the individual clubs at special club events. Please contact your assistant governor for help in completing this task.
 
The second task stems from a Rotary International request. Every club is eligible to receive the Presidential Citation. In order to receive this award, a club must fill out the information requested on Club Central - which will be posted there during the first week of June - by June 30. Our goal is to have 100-percent club participation from our district.  Please help us come closer to our goal. Assistant governors will be giving you a call to see how you are progressing, and to offer help in completing this task.
 
District 7910 Business Meeting Well-Attended
 
During our district's annual Business Meeting on April 29 in Providence, a resolution was unanimously approved, allowing immediate past presidents of Rotary clubs to serve on the District Nominating Committee. To read the new procedure, click here.
 
Shown, below, left to right: District Parliamentarian Steve Sager and District Secretary Michelle Gasbarro look on as District Governors Skip and Pat Doyle explain the new nominating procedure, which takes effect this July 1.
 
Four important things to know:
 
1. The weekly submission deadline for the Newsletter is Friday. As usual, text content must be submitted in Word format, and image content, in either JPEG or PDF format. Continue to submit your content to Immediate Past District Governor/Newsletter Editor Jim Fusco at jim.fusco2@gmail.com.
 
2. Rotary Youth Leadership Awards: The RYLA Club Pack has been updated and posted on RYLA7910.org. When you download it, you will notice changes from last year. Please read the material carefully and direct your questions to Christine Pinney, chair of the RYLA Committee,who may be reached at chair@ryla7910.org. The RYLA Committee is working to make RYLA 2017 the "best RYLA ever." Be sure to sign-up to volunteer. In this issue's "RYLA Right Now," read more.
 
3. Club Planning Worksheet: To download the Club Planning Worksheet, click here.This worksheet is made available to clubs so they can gauge their progress in achieving the goals they set last July.  This month is a good time to review the worksheet and see how far you have come and how much farther you need to go as a club. You may surprise yourselves and realize that you are well on the way to earning district recognition. We recommend the club president appoint the president-elect to be the "champion" of the Worksheet, and to use it as a guide for the club, and to report monthly to the club's membership and board on the club's progress.
 
4. As your district governors, we have resolved to:
  • Revisit as many clubs as possible by this June 30
  • Help our clubs achieve the goals they set last July
  • Do all we can to build membership in the district
  • Plan a grand event to celebrate our Million Dollar Journey
  • "Move the ball forward," in harmony with District Governor-Elect Karin Gaffney, District Governor-Nominee Steve Sager and District Governor-Nominee-Designate Pamela Anastasi
District Governors Pat and Skip Doyle (shown, right) may be reached at pwdoyle2@verizon.net and skipdoyle2@verizon.net, respectively.
 
Click here to submit content for the Tuesday, May 23  issue. The submission deadline for this issue is Friday, May 19.